Articles and Thoughts

Menu

I may be in my mid-50 but I surely see myself as someone very much in shape. I must say my relationship with sports during my younger years have helped me develop a sense of discipline when it comes to being fit and staying there.

I used to play rugby back then and it did not only give me a stronger body but a sound and healthy mine as well. As much as I would still love to play rugby, my body now has several limitations but it never stops me from looking for alternatives on how I can remain healthy.

Here are 6 tips I would like to share for those who still want to stay fit and healthy at age 50:

1. Pay attention to your passion.

Because retirement is just around the corner, it is important that you focus your attention to what it is you are passionate about.

If you are blessed with doing a job you are passionate about, then good for you; if not, this is the perfect time you can do the things you love. Forget about the demands of work and start planning out your to-dos in relation to your passion.

I have always loved sports, and watching a game is always part of my to-dos every time I spend the weekend at home. Sometimes, I go to schools and volunteer to help out in their soccer or rugby team; now that’s something rewarding for me.

2. Make sure you have a retirement sport.

Talking about staying fit and healthy, you need to move that body. And the best way to do that is through sports.

Have you decided on your retirement sport? Now that you have all the time to do sport, you may want to focus your energy on a specific one: golf, hiking or kayaking perhaps? Whatever it is that you decide on, plan out activities and put your soul into that sport.

Remember, you need to move that body!

3. Get a dog.

At age 50, your doctor will most likely include cardio exercises on your activities of daily living in order to keep fit and healthy.

And since treadmill appears more like work than an enjoyable exercise, you might want to reconsider your cardio exercise – get a dog!

A dog can accompany you in your walking exercises every morning in your neighborhood; cardio exercise with a touch of fun!

4. Change some of your usual routines.

Being fit is not limited to physical activities, it also means being healthy mentally, emotionally and socially.

Since you are so over your employment days, I would like to suggest a very good routine change – losing the alarm clock.

Now that you have no more work (if you’ve retired by this age) to report to, waking up early should be a routine your body already knows so well without the pressure of submitting to it.

Practicing your body and brain to wake up every morning without an annoying alarm clock is an exercise itself.

5. Exercise your brain – read.

Reading is the best form of exercise for your brain. A book a month is quite a way good to keep those neurons working.

There are so many interesting books or magazines available depending on what interests you. I suggest you make a list of books to read and make it a goal to finish at least one book per month.

6. Watch your diet.

Health is always related to food. Remember the saying, “you are what you eat”? Now that you are past fifty years old, your nutritional needs have changed.

You now need more water, less salt and preservatives and more organic food. Pay a visit to your nutritionist and get a list of good food to eat appropriate for your health status and lifestyle.

Having worked in many different jobs I have gained quite a skill for resumes and cover letters. A cover letter to compliment your resume is usually something that companies check out when they are viewing resumes against their job vacancies. Having a great cover letter can make some companies want to know more about you, and hopefully in turn, wanting to meet you to ask some questions about you and your working history.

If you want to be considered for a job, you have to make sure that you write the best cover letter, but of course that is easier said than done. Here are some top tips for you to do just that.

Top Instructions on Writing a Cover Letter for your Resume

Here are some rules that you can follow :-

Do Not Make Your Cover Letter Long – Just imagine the employer sifting through the high volume of cover letters and resumes that they receive. Reading so many cover letters can make it hard and boring for the employer, so keep things short yet concise. Also keep the content of your resume to a limit of approximately 3-5 pages.

Keep Things Positive – Employers would want to hire people who would like to work under the company because of different positive reasons. If you would show that you are only desperate for a job and you do not know a lot of things about the companies, it is likely that you will not be given a chance to get to know details about the company better.

Bring Into Light Your Accomplishments – You have a few short sentences to prove that you are the best person for the job, and you can do that by listing down your accomplishments and what you have achieved so far in your career history. List down qualities that are not common and can truly describe how you are as a worker, as an employee, and as a person.

Be Specific – Keeping things general and giving comments that are very common will make employers want to just set aside your cover letter and proceed with the next one.

Make it Apparent That You Are Expecting an Interview – You have to make sure that you still maintain your professional tone when you are closing your cover letter, however make it obvious that you look forward to receiving a call from the company, so that they know you are interested.

Closing Cover Letters

By now, it is possible that you have already created the draft of your cover letter, but you still do not know how you are going to end it. Usually, you are recommended to leave your contact information like your mobile phone number or an email address to make it easier for the employer to contact you at the soonest possible time.

Make sure that you are able to show that you are sincere and determined to get hired for the job. Usually, employers can see when potential candidates are passionate and enthusiastic.

When you get used to working everyday since college graduation, tendency is, you’ll most likely feel a bit bored by the time the government requires you to retire.

While retirement gives you the time to hit the reset button and take a quality time for yourself, you would definitely still want to do something productive; something that still allows you to talk to people and exchange opinions and ideas with them.

But how can you do this when you’ve got debts piled up and grocery list to scratch off every week?

Perhaps you’ve heard a lot about getting insurances for your health, your house, education of your children and all those stuff; and you most definitely, you were told that if you have insurances, you’re most likely to enjoy the rest of your retirement days instead of worrying.

There are basically two questions I get from my clients: how much do insurances cost? And what are the different types of insurance they can avail?

Life Insurance

The greatest factor that drives people to have life insurance is the thought of being able to provide for the loved ones you leave behind. This is very important for those people having their family rely on them for their needs.

Most insurance policies cover about ten times the income you make every year – something that will be very helpful for the people you leave behind.

Health Insurance

Just like accidents, health conditions can surprise us. And what primarily gets affected when our health fails us is our capacity to work and provide for the family’s needs. Not to mention the expenses incurred when our health condition requires medical treatments and expensive medications.

Acquiring a health insurance can be very helpful in times like this. Depending on the coverage you are getting, health insurances give you a buffer in terms of hospitalizations and medical procedures.

Long-Term Disability Coverage

We always want to picture ourselves as healthy individuals; we can never imagine the thought of being disabled secondary to accidents or health problems. Thus, we deny the need for a long-term disability insurance.

But those who had been surprised by this occurrence will definitely encourage you to get one. Most disabilities come as a surprise, and according to researches, these happen during our working years.

So if you think you are invincible, you might want to reconsider; a long-term disability coverage might just be the superhero that saves you when that dreaded day ever comes.

Auto Insurance

Let’s admit it, as costly as they can get, cars or vehicles are already considered necessity today. And to avoid adding additional expenses to the already-expensive purchase of the vehicle, you might want to get an auto insurance.

Anything can happen on the road (even on parking lots), and I mean anything. If you do not want to shell out additional money for auto repairs, auto insurance can help you avoid it. There are many types of auto coverage and you can find one that suits your needs.

Many people escape you when you begin talking about insurances to them but the more they realize that prevention is indeed better than cure, the more they can appreciate the essence of having an insurance ready.

Writing has always been my passion; it’s something that I would definitely love to do everyday. It keeps me mentally healthy.

However, there are times when my focus seems a bit off-track. And even though I use a MacBook, which in itself is already a great tool (thumbs up) for my writing and blogging, there are still distractions that slow down my turnabout time such as blinking images and icons, pop-up reminders, and the temptation to visit social media.

Thanks to these 3 distraction-free applications, I can now focus on my writing at least ninety-nine percent of the time.

WriteRoom

This is a barebones writing app available for Mac OS X and any iOS device. It also features a back up that is cloud-based and you can have your data synchronized thru SimpleText.ws. This distraction-free application does away with the tool bar and scroll bar since these are the very distractions we encounter in our computer.

Also, this application allows you to customize basic settings such as the background and colors of the fonts.

FocusWriter

Now this is a distraction-free app that comes as full-screen which also emphasizes a clean space for writing with all its functionality still readily available for you.

You can find the user interface at the edge of the screen where it is hidden; if you don’t need it you can simply hide it. Themes are also available for use as well as background images and font customization.

Some of the additional features include: word count counter and a time tracker allowing you to monitor the time you spend writing. Spell-check is also available.

OmmWriter

This application is available for Mac; it has a Zen-inspired text editor which primarily focuses on writing in a much more relaxed environment.

With minimalist colors for backgrounds, you will surely have more focus on the writing part. Much like other distraction-free applications, customization is also available.

If you have yet to know about these apps, you can search the Internet for features that best cater to your needs as a writer. There are even free trials so you can test them before actually purchasing them.

Writing can be tricky at times; it can either flow as smooth as the river or as rough as a storm. The output can greatly be assessed depending on the focus of the writer.

No matter how I prepared I am for writing, there are just those times when I get so easily distracted and I must say these distraction-free applications really help me a lot in dealing with those distractions.

If you are easily distracted by little details, I suggest you try these distraction-free apps and see how useful they can be for you and your writing.